Monday, September 17, 2007

Cartoon College Year 1: My Ideal Cartoon School

This course is designed to make the graduates as skilled as possible.

On top of that, they would be trained to be extremely observant and analytic. They would be able to adapt to many drawing styles, because they would know the difference between what is a universal drawing principle and what is a superficial stylistic habit.

It doesn't matter if you plan to be a 2d animator, CG animator or even a Flash animator, these skills will put you at the top of your chosen branch of animation.

It's also designed to inspire the cartoonists to enjoy the immense potential of creativity that is possible when you combine skill, imagination and fun.

SilhouettesThese drawing tools are used for the purpose of clarity. They give the artist control of how the audience perceives their poses.

Drawing FunnyNear the end of the year, once the students have a good grasp of basic cartoon drawing tools, then we will apply them to the task of making people laugh by visuals alone.I'll have to think about how to actually teach this. It may be more of a case of encouraging it and inspiring people by showing tons of examples from the funniest cartoonists in history.

2) Inbetweening and Cleanup

Historically, the most successful method for learning anything has been the apprenticeship system.In the early days of animation, cartoonists broke into the business by assisting more experienced animators.They cleaned up the animators' rough poses and drew the inbetweens.Being an assistant animator teaches you many important principles of animation. You just absorb what the animator is doing and then when you begin to animate yourself, you have a great head start.I think the first year students should inbetween and cleanup the 3rd and 4th year students' animation.

Cleanup itself is extremely important to good animation.Animation is about more than smooth motion. It is about clear distinct drawings, expressions and poses. Smooth motion of vague or sloppy drawings cannot compete with smooth motion of strong distinct entertaining drawings.

3) 1st Principles of Cartoon Motion

We would learn the basic tools of cartoon motion, step by step starting with rubber hose animation.

how to read and write ex sheets.-walks, double bounce walks, runs, basic movement,figure 8 motions,Overlapping Actionbasic lip synch,¾ walks with animating backgroundsAnimating the impossible-using the medium to do what only animation can do.

4) Life Drawing

Studying the general from life

with an emphasis on slow careful drawings, structure, perspective and proportions.

In the first year, we would concentrate on:

Proportionsperspectiveforeshortening

Not much detailed anatomy until 2nd year.

Life drawing has not brought many tangible benefits to young animators' cartoon skills.I have seen many student portfolios that have decent life drawings, yet primitive cartoon drawings.Life drawing should be geared to help the student apply general skills from observing life to his cartoon drawings.That would be the aim of this life drawing class.No quick gesture drawings. Scribbling is not a useful animators' tool.

5) Caricature and Observation

Observation over style: Learning to use your eyes and senses to analyze, rather than copying trendy or established styles.When you sit down to caricature a person, you should try to bury all your preconceived notions of what "caricature style" is.

There is no caricature style. Each person is unique. Every person is a unique style and the person should dictate what you draw.

You should not filter the subject through what you think your style or your favorite caricaturist's style is.

The purpose of caricaturing in this course will be to break your prejudices.You will be amassing many many new shapes and forms that you can later apply to your animation characters.

You will learn how to see contrasts and how to exaggerate them, thus drawing attention to what makes people and shapes have a distinct clear visual overall statement.

This will help kill any tendencies to genericism that the rest of the business instills in young artists.

6) Applications

This class will be totally devoted to making sure that the students apply what they learn from their other classes to actual cartoon drawings and animation.This is a big hole in most animation schools. We will plug up the hole here.

If you learned foreshortening in life drawing yesterday, you will then do a bunch of drawings of Donald Duck using foreshortening.

If you learned new eye shapes or head shapes in caricature class, you will draw simpler more cartoony characters that use those shapes.

7) ROOTS - History of cartoons

cartoons, comics and animation from 1920 or so till about 1965.(this would be every year and each year I would have the students study aspects of classic cartoons that relate to their exercises.

This course is meant to broaden the cartoonists' horizons and to inspire them.Disney will merely be one of very many styles we will look at.

Electives

If I had my choice in electives, I would design courses that would broaden the interests of cartoonists but at the same time enhance their creativity and ideas.

I'm curious as to how many people would take a course like this. If you are thinking of going to an animation/cartooning school in the next couple years, read this outline of my year one and tell me in the comments whether you would sign up for something like this. (I will add the other years in posts soon)

If I get enough interest, maybe I can take it to an art school.

I know one thing. If I started a school for cartoons and animation, the graduates would be in great demand throughout the industry.

Many cartoonists who have gone through the rigorous Spumco training have gone on to great success and fame.

This course would be even more focused on the students because there would be no show deadlines complicating the matter.

I bet if I get a hundred or 2 comments from wanna-be students, we'd have a good argument to sell this school to someone.

Hey I'm DavidI'm Currently attending an art school, called Kendall College in Michigan. I am majoring in Animation. I want to be able to do 3D and 2D (I love Both) I've had a strong love for it ever since I was little. I want to learn everything there is to know about it. I hope one day to become an Amazing animator. I would so sign up to take this course.

If anyone wants to get a hold of me and talk some animation please do...

I'm 47. I went to art school to learn film production. A waste of time, mainly due to lousy teaching. (But I did see all of Hithcocks films during that period - learned more watching them than going to school.)

I currently go to James Madison University. I'd transfer to this dream school in a heartbeat. Vigorous and serious study of legit animation, rather than how-to courses on the best way to copy current fads and trends.

I'll definitely get an application form for this, no question. If this idea catches on, then it’ll be the next best school to go to, right after Ralph's own school for cartoonists (however, are dirty Canadians, such as myself, allowed to join?)

I cannot wait for the advice you'll give to me, so thanks again, John.

I'm in, I'm in, I'm in. The online lessons are priceless, but to be in an actual classroom setting, learning alongside other devoted students of cartooning, under the tutelage of experienced, funny people...yes, prease!

I've always wanted to learn to dance, especially the awesome crazy dances from the 20s-50s (like in Fred Moore's "All the Cats Join In"), not that weird swaying crap kids do at prom today. Also the ukelele! When I think of fun, cartoony instruments, I think ukelele!

Lord knows I am less than adequate with life drawing skills. Otherwise, if this can be offered in terms of a graduate school, I'd fill out the application right away. That is, considering, we don't have to take any liberal arts courses that have absolutely nothing to do with cartoon school.You should definitally pursue this, Mr. K.

If you created enough interest in this, I'd be interested at what level you would be accepting students into the program. How do you choose who's going to be your incoming class? What skills do you look for prior to entering. At some point the classes too become too big. How intimate should the teacher-student environment be also?

Interesting note about the gesture drawing also. What year do you think should teach it, if any at all?

Here in Australia I think I'm gonna have to waste years of my life learning Maya instead of actually learning animation.

That "technical crap" section you said would be the focus of any animation course you could find here, with drawing and animation principles would be secondary to learning how to use a computer program.

I'd totally take this course. Couldn't you an online course and charge people to take it?

I´ve never imagine one day i would be able to read you almost every day. Ren & Stimpy was an inflection point in my life. After watching them, I´d no doubt that I would became an animator. And that´s what I am now!

I´m from Argentina. And I am also a teacher. So I will follow your schedules! HA! Seriously, I wish I would ever be able to go to your amazing school!

Dance and theatre would be great for those who feel embarrassed of acting what they have to animate! So let´s do it!

How good do you have to be in order to get in, and what would you want to see in an entry portfolio?

Sounds like a good first year...Being impatient as I am, I'd really be looking forward to learning how to lay out and paint backgrounds.

So many animation books repeating the same Disney 12 principles and not ONE of them can tell you how to start with gouache in the closing chapters. Why shouldn't background painting be part of an animator's knowledge, especially if he wants to do his own short indie projects?

sup john, right now im attending an art highschool, but sadly there is no animation class within the school. i plan to go into a college that teaches animation. so this would really help me out. i would love to have something like this in an actual school to teach to me or anyone else who wants to learn. this stuff is great. thanks a lot.

Hi John, this program sounds amazing. I just graduated school a year ago and I'd gladly take classes...are you familiar with animationmentor.com ? They teach you how to be a Pixar animator, but I'd love to see an alternative to that system out there. These classes are much needed in the industry. SIGN ME UP!

>>How good do you have to be in order to get in, and what would you want to see in an entry portfolio?<<

Good question Raff

You'd have to have obvious natural talent and since this blog has already shown what else I think is important, you'd have to show drawings and /or animation that proves you've done some of the lessons and understood them.

As far as BG painting goes, you'd probably be better off taking a good illustration course.

I already have a BFA for painting and whatnot. The school was so structureless that ll I learned as that it's easy to get lost. Oh, and how to analyze art house movies. Anyway, I've decided that my number one goal is to make great cartoons and i could see no better way than taking the classes you outlined. And even if i don't get teh chance to enroll in your hypothetical class i'm going to spend the next year drawing nothing but rubber hose figures from millions of angles.

I have been looking for my perfect medium, and I have not quite found it. Cartoons have always been interesting t me but I see what is out there on T.V and it looks like cartooning would suck right now, there is no real creativity or humor in cartoons anymore, but if there WAS something like you are talking about I would seriously consider going into the field!

Yeah I would absolutely join a course like this. Dance lessons, YES! What better way to learn body mechanics and graceful beautiful motion than by DOING IT? The Caricature and Application parts of this curriculum are particularly enticing in this outline to me. I feel like I often don't have any idea how to draw a real cartoon because of this lack in my education, and I know that I like everyone else, falls back on OTHER ARTISTS' styles and visual language, rather than using observation like I should.

This is what I have been thinking since you started posting the cartoon lessons on your blog. You really SHOULD be teaching full-time. You're good at it, you're an expert on the topic, and you've obviously carefully evaluated the best way to learn animation.

It would probably also pay better than doing web ads, too.

I would totally go for it once I have enough money to drop work for a while and go back to school

My first thought is that that's a great curriculum. My second thought is that that's an awful lot of stuff to cover in one year. (I'm presuming you're wanting to do it well and not just check them off the list) I've taken college level art classes and I found that finding time to do a good job on the assignements for one class was tough. Seven...? ouch.

I'd sure as hell be interested. Only problem is I live in South Africa. Talk about a depressing animation/cartooning industry.. Everything I know is self-tought. No-one knows shit, including me. But I'd consider moving there, just to get proper animation knowledge. Always been a fan of Ren and Stimpy.. sigh.

I would definitely sign up! I can see that you definitely have a clear plan for such a great school. I've actually started my first year in a liberal arts college, so make sure you have a good program for all the transfer students who'd want to get into your school!

My comment will no doubt be lost amongst all the ones that have been posted so far, but I'd just like to mention the fact that I desperately want to follow a course like this, but cannot afford to do so.

I believe I have the talent to do well on such a course but I don't have the funds.

The amount of emphasis on 3D in the current industry could be a problem - while I keep hearing that places like Pixar prefer to train in tools, not animation, bringing in someone for some electives in basic modelling could help. Or, hell. Bring in someone to clue folks in about sculpting. Give folks the basics of taking their 2D imagery and pushing it back into 3D with their own hands. I dunno. I figure you're going to address this in years 2-4 somewhere. You don't want to crank out folks who can do nothing but 3D - but a touch of familiarity with the basics might be cool.

Also, I'm looking at the examples you chose for 'funny drawings' and realizing they're all pretty grotesque. How much of the laughter at a funny drawing is nervous laughter? I'd never really thought of it from that angle before. You could probably spend most of that phase of the drawing class by bringing in funny examples and just asking yourself and the class "what makes this funny?' Have the students bring in funny stuff, too.

I love the idea of dance. I took some ballet when I was young; it didn't stick as a Thing I Do, but it helped make me aware of the body's motion.

Having a library available would be cool too. Pile up all the inspirational work you can find, encourage students to pick out books at random and see what they discover. Give them the tools to draw outside of 'style', the tools to analyze a style... and lots of different ones to play with.

I wish something like this had been available at my college. I want to go back for a Masters at some point and if a course like this were available, I'd do what it takes to get my degree and work on these lessons at the same time. Especially since I know that if I put the work in, I'll get good results.

So, if you shop around at schools to get this course started at a real university, please come to North Florida, I'd like a chance to check it out!

This sounds great! But it also sounds like 2 years of material, not one.

The most valuable part (judging from your descriptions) - inbetweening senior students' work - would also be the most time-consuming. Depending on the director of the project, an inbetweener could end up spending all their time tweening and no time on their own classwork!

The toy design is a nice idea, but I'd make it an elective. If basic construction is being taught properly, everyone should be learning to draw characters from all angles anyway.

I was actually just reading a letter I got from an art institute that I had requested info from. I felt disappointed because what they seemed to offer was a mashup of basic drawing classes, and the program I'm in now. Weak. I'm Digital media design right now, for a few thousand a year.Why are they calling it animation in Pennsylvania, and charging ten times as much? What you show sounds like what I had expected.I am scared and confused.

absolutely! You're idea to structure the curriculum in the spirit of the old school method of breaking into the business is inspired! I also love the list of entertainers you mentioned as a point of study.I'd sign up in a heartbeat!

The problem would be money. I'm going to AAU online because my work (a warehouse!) actually pays my tuition as long as the school's accredited. I haven't gotten very far yet.

How about this, John - hire a group of capable students to work under you and produce shorts. I would transfer from Ohio to my company's branch in L.A. and work every other waking hour in your studio. I think I have what it takes and I'd have no problem with the dance classes - I was a tap dancer growing up (by force - my sister owns a dance studio and thought she could get more boys to join). However, I learned to appreciate it.

Providing your own animation courses and thus share your valuable knowledge and experience with the upcoming generation of cartoonists is the best way to finally make a difference and change the way animation is made, again. If this happens, we can, for sure, cherish the times which are about to come!

This sounds like a great curriculum. I probably wouldn't have understood it if I hadn't been reading your blog all along. Especially the emphasis on rubber-hose. But having read your explanation earlier, it makes total sense.

I'm glad you're putting so much emphasis on drawing, and much less on animating, in the first year. When I first starting trying to learn animation, I assumed the best strategy would be to start animating, and learn things like drawing technique along the way. I got psych'd reading books like "Animator's Survival Kit", but I got nowhere in practice. I soon realized that the animator's skill is in making still drawings that are already animated, in that each drawing must have dimension, motion, balance, emotion, force, gravity, etc. I'm still learning so much from just copying the Preston Blair drawings (thank you very much!). Most animation curricula start you off immediately with the bouncing ball, and then move to walk cycles. But it's pointless if you haven't learned drawing fundamentals.

You should make it clear what prerequisites the students should have before beginning the first year. Your curriculum is assuming the student already has a lot of drawing skills; you should make it clear exactly what you expect.

As for gesture drawings, there are actually two different things that go by that name. I'm pretty sure that you're talking about "gesture drawings" as popularized by Kimon Nicolaides, where your scribbles are supposed to represent the motion or gesture of the subject but not the form. These may have some value for beginning artists, but since they require zero skill and take only seconds to draw, only a fool would include them in a portfolio. The other kind of "gesture drawing" is that taught by Walt Stanchfield. These are also quick sketches based on a live model, but the goal here is to not only represent the figure, but improve on it by using principles such as line of action, clear silhouette, forced perspective, etc, in order to capture the essence of the motion or attitude in a strong, emotional pose. I'm not saying your curriculum would be amiss to not include this type of gesture drawing, but I did want to point out the distinction.

I'm not sure if you're serious about the toys. If you are, I can also see value in actually making clay sculptures of cartoon characters to help visualize their solidity and dimensionality.

If such a school existed... Yes, it's really possible I would like to join, no matter the distance nor the price.A place where finally stop listening to crap about art compared with magic. A place free of that awful "Nah, it's just a little practice and that's it. Do everything as it comes out and if somebody doesn't understand, it's their problem. You are an artist, who can say that what you do is wrong?". A place devoted to understand the principles that make art feel like magic, that's something else. Man, if that existed...

You don't have to start a NEW schoolCalArts is currently looking for a new director for their Character Animation Program.http://calarts.edu/employment/academicjobs/directorprogramcharacteranimationThey Already have good Life drawing and music and dance for electives. They just need a visionary like you.You should get in there and kick some ass!

I agree that this would be an excellent first year course in Animation. I was fortunate to attend an animation school that encouraged individualized freedom to experiment with different types of animation.

Beyond what you suggest here, we also learned to use computers to create art. We used Painter, Photoshop, Illustrator, Maya, Flash, Premier, and Audacity to create backgrounds, animation, and sound for out animation projects.

I have to disagree on your comment that scribbles have no place in animation. Scribbles are a good way to work out timing for a complex action. You can quickly create and throw away dozens of drawings until you get the timing right. Then you can put the roughs over the scribbles, check the animation again and clean it up.

I think the reason that a lot of animation is stiff is because no one takes the time to scribble out the action first to get the timing down before working on the animation.

Scribbles also help with story boarding. You can quickly draw up a bunch of panels, discarding the ones that don't work, until you have the basics for the plot. Then you can do more detailed drawing to show to others.

I think that I read that you do this yourself, John. So I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss gesture drawings.

This post made me reflect on my college life so far, and I have to say I don't like where I am at right now. Going to bull crap community college, surrounded by bull crap "animation" schools (Full Sail, the Dave school; which by the way, is a portable trailer behind Universal Studios Orlando, Art Institute, etc). My dad telling me to "stop drawing your damn cartoons" and get your bullshit degree that isn't worth the parchment it's printed on.

Hell, I just have one more class and that'll be that! So yes, I will walk, hitchhike, or hijack to this animation college, to finally learn skills for what I always loved to do, and to get away from my house.

Im not sure about the dance.. I can see where you're going with it but maybe lean towards a music theory class. Also, dont forget about some art history classes specifically oriented toward classic animation/animators. A sculpting class would be cool for understanding 3d form.

>>A couple people have noted that 7 classes may be too much for one year, so maybe I'd move one or 2 to the second year.<<

7 classes too much? Is this a semester system or quarter? Usually 4 classes a semester is the standard. So thats 8 classes a year. Quarter systems you can take 3-4 classes a year. Thats 12-16 classes a year. Any less and you'll be going to John K. U. for 8 years.

sounds SO awesome! if the price is reasonable i'd definitely TRY to get in. i think you've said before that you didn't think people over a certain age could learn to do cartoon drawing.. is there a maximum age?

i think you should be pretty strict on grading and put people on probation and expel them if they're slacking too much.. i think College of the Canyons in Valencia was looking for a new animation department head, too.. are you thinking about an LA school or Canadian? i think canada would be a better setting for cracking down on animation, myself.. but i guess if you're totally dedicated you should be able to learn anywhere.

come on! the number of classes doesnt matter i'm sure you're not going to give more homework than is humanly possible so as long as you consider that it doesn't matter.. and some classes could last longer than others or meet more times per week.. i think the most hours per week of classes i took in college was like 18 so i think seven or eight 2 hour classes plus a figure drawing "lab" wouldn't be bad

Oh yes. Since I was in grade nine I wanted to take an animation and film course after high school, but since the other animation schools are so overpriced and crappy I'm just sticking to film school.

I've looked at the portfolios of these other schools, and I know that I can teach myself more than I'd learn in school. I can already draw better than alot of the portfolios I've seen and I'm just out of high school.

I'm not about to spend $30,000 on a crappy course that won't teach me more than I can do on my own. I WOULD spend good money on a course like yours. It sounds like it would teach skills and guide you on your way to your own style, rather than being forced into another style by default.

That's why for now I'm sticking with film school. They teach you how to run the equipment and basic knowledge and stuff, then you grow from there.

John, I'd have to say the curriculum proves to be a practical introduction to animation. I say you're on to something with this SpumCollege idea of yours. Lets see if you can deliver something like that on the east coast as well ;D

OMG... that sounds absolutely amazing. But how come you aren't running the School already??!! Actually, to be honest your Blog is one of the best online tutorials I have ever read. Don't ever, ever stop!

I'm just a lowly illustrator, but I'd be very interested in enrolling in a school set up by you. The fundamentals and Theory you teach me every day blow my mind, and I think i've learned a lot from you in the past few months of being a reader. I'm amazed at how the things you teach can be applied to all illustration and drawing techniques, mediums, and styles

The program you're describing is exactly what young cartoonists need, not only the topics, but also the order, the learning curve. Every topic naturally leads to the next. This is a recipe for success!

If you plan to pitch this program to an existing school, look into keeping control of the curriculum as if it was your constitution. I'm not sure how can it be done, but it's important to address, since schools are in the habit of shifting and changing their programs.

I would definitely go to a school like this. I am planning on going to Sheridan College next year for animation. You seem to have many issues with CalArts, I'm wondering what your thoughts on Sheridan are.

Sign me up! Even if you are not seriously considering starting a school, this curriculum should be something all art schools should follow. I hope they are listening....are you listening Art Institute?! Keep us all updated on the school, u dig? because you have over 100 hungry wannabeyourstudents here right now :)

John, be sure to offer night courses so a 33 year old cartoonist like me could still enroll! Seriously though, have you considered teaching small classes privately? I'm sure there are tons of people who'd pay good money for classes and workshops with you.

Hey I am currently attending The Art Institute of pittsburgh, and I am studying animation. But I have to say I am completely hateing it and would love to go to a school like the one you are describing. AIP does nothing to even help an animator truly animate. You have to take a few drawing classes that don't even help animate or caricature, or draw cartoons, The teachers just don't want to help you they want it their way or no way, and there are absolutly no class for animation there. It more like ok here is what you have to do and they make you do it, Same with the so so called "Animation" Courses. So if you wanted to start up this school I would immediatly drop out from the art institute and go and sign up for your school.

God dammit JOhn, open your school already! You have a brand name. People know who you are. Its like the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning in New York.

You'll have to find A school in your neck of the woods that would let you run the program as you see fit. That includes hiring who you see fit and not have some bull-shit school officials hire who they see fit.In other words, you gotta run this shit your own way. I know it would be hard to do but you have to do it. I'm sure if you started with a small first year class of 25 student freshmen, then each year you have a new class of freshmen until the program ha s 100 people.And make sure you hire people that love good-old fashioned cartoons to teach cause in my experience a lot of animation schools kind of look down on cartoons.

I´d love to go to that cartoon school... but i live in Argentina...!and i´m moving to Australia next year! So unless there´s an online alternative, i´m afraid i won´t... :( An online course would be great!

I think the first year students should inbetween and cleanup the 3rd and 4th year students' animation.

I suggested this very idea at my school. I remember one student shouting it down saying "I don't want some first year touching my film." PHHT!

That does sound like a very good course. I'd love to go through it if I had more time and more money. Just last night I stayed up until 2 A.M. Just to finish all the scenes I had to animate right at the dead line. Whew!

Yeah, I don't see how anyone could turn down such a curriculum. However, I've learned from experience that you must make sure that someone reputable and honest is handling the money. The school won't even last a year without that.

I've been reading this blog for a while now and I have been putting a lot of what I read here to use in my own work (to very good effect). If ever a school like this existed I would most certainly attend.

Unfortunately, I just graduated from college, (Though overall, I am pretty happy with my education, mine had a pretty good 2D animation program) but if I had another 40 K in loans to waste on college, I’d pick this one. (Just read the post about animating to beats, definitely didn’t learn that in school, going to have to give that lesson a try.)

So here is a vote for the next group of Super Animators that will come out of the John K School of Animation!

As someone who has been through animation college and saw what skills I was lacking when I went out into the world (still lacking many of those skills ten years later) and someone who has to look through many portfolios and showreels every year, I can safely say that this sounds like an excellent course.

Your points about application are spot-on. So many skills (like life drawing) are completely useless if students don't learn from them and apply them to their animation (and why the hell do people fill their portfolios with 95% life drawing? You're not applying for a position of 'life drawer'!).

The only bit I wasn't sure about was the 3D drawing from toys aspect only because so many cartoon constructions don't have angles that work in 3 dimensions and I've seen many people create horrible drawings by just not accepting the fact that what they are creating is in fact a 2D image.

I would probably put more emphasis on modern programs like Flash and so on too as people have to jacks of all trades in the current climate. But, hey, that's just me.

You've hit on so many aspects that are missing from the work I see. At least over this side of the world.

Sounds like a great course. I reckon your blog is already required reading for people learning animation and there are skills that are dying out (even the bland skills you don't like are getting worse and worse) that need to be nurtured and pushed. I really hope you get this course off the ground.

If you're looking for something to shift into the second year, I'd think Caricature is an advanced topic that probably is beyond first year scope.

I'm a bit doubtful that there is enough industry demand for 2D animators in the USA to warrant another school. There's already a glut of 3D animators here, I suspect the prospects for 2D guys are even dimmer.

I'd definitely sign up for this. What better opportunity for thoroughness and rigor than at an animation school? This sounds great. Sign me up!

I've done a lot of 2D and 3D animation as a hobby over the years and have wanted to make the skill professional. I enjoy 2D a lot more than 3D for the sheer freedom of it, but the current state of the industry has brought me some pause. The old stuff is what's really inspiring. I'd imagine that if more animators got their skills from a program like this the trends might actually start to change.

I would have relished a course like this. As it is, at the age of nineteen I signed up to do a foundation year in art to learn drawing and animation, and found myself leaving six weeks later, utterly crushed.

3D animation is lifeless and I dont get why people are so amazed by it. It has not personality like the classic cartoons did. Imagine your favourite Clampett Cartoon in 3D. It'd probably lose all of the specianl qualities it used to have. I know you hate Disney but I really hope their 2D feature film The Frog Princess does well so people can get back to 2D animation.

I think an important question should be: who'd be GENUINELY interested in paying big dough for this. Maybe not $100k, but say, about half of it: 15k a year. The value of an official diploma is vastly diminishing, and in art doesn't have the biggest impact anyway. Now, I'm probably underestimating such an endeavour, but still: If you could get, say, only 5 people to join for the first year (which of course is a risk, since it's impossible to already garantuee a second year - but Animation Mentor had plenty of students taking the same risk). That'd be 75k for the first year. I don't know L.A. prices, but would that be too little to rent a small classroom and still have some on the side, either as your paycheck or to invest back into it later? Combine that with more of your commercial work, and is it really absolutely impossible to start such a school? I mean, in a way, you had to pay talented students so you could teach them at Spumco. Would it be so absolutely implausable to set up such a school if they're now paying you?

Even though I wouldn't be one joining (I think it's a great curriculum - but if you remember my past comments you know my animation sensibilities lie a bit elsewhere, and I have recently finally met someone who can really mentor and teach me in drawing, plus add to that I live in Belgium and wouldn't have the money), I'd love to see the cartoon industry get back on its true feet, and see cartoons in the classic sense again, so I'm really just trying to make this idea a more tangible and real one here.

What a fabulous idea! Every step in the program looks incredibly well thought out, and completely logical (yes, even dance lessons). You'll produce a whole generation of super-cartoonists ready to bring back some fun in animation, and save this decaying world. I live probably as far from L.A. as humanly possible, but I'd sign up.

I think whats wrong with art schools is that the do not encourage specialization. John's theory of how to teach animation can be applied to any art. If specialized hard theory and practice of painting were encouraged over new-agey "exploration" we would end up with better painters. I'm not saying that exploration is bad, but why emphasize rule breaking before knowing the rules?

I'm currently enrolled at SCAD, and I would take your class in an instant. I don't always agree with what you have to say, but it's always enlightening to say the very least. I've already garnered alot from my few visits to your blog, and learning under you would be a treat.

john,i have been following your blog for almost as long as i have been at the art institute, and you have continually helped me realize how much of an education i'm NOT getting! i, and a number of my colleagues would back your program to the fullest!

i'm was getting excited just reading your post, i can't wait for it to come true!!!

Seriously John make this happen! You live in Burbank don't you? That would be the perfect spot to put the school. Tons of studios there... and I live nearby (Panorama City... next to Van Nuys) -- so I would sooooo go.

Queefy, Gene Kelly will kick your face in with his steel-reinforced tap shoe, then finish the job by crushing your thorax between his massive dancer's thighs before you even hit the floor. He will then seduce your girlfriend through a series of leaps, turns, and a furious little tap number.

That school sounds like it would be badass, but what seems to be missing in there are classes about color. You've covered all of the tools of an animator quite well, but more than that I think anyone in an art field of work needs to have some kind of art foundations that extends beyond just life drawing. Color, composition, structure and all that jazz. They pound color theory into us at my school, and I'm glad.

Other than that, I can tell that if you started up this school it would beat out a lot of the BS art schools I've had the displeasure to know.

i think it's lacking some stuff that made the golden age animators so great.the artistic background they must have i'm sure it's was wider than construction for cartoons. Looking at the amazing stuff carlo vici did in his own time you can see what kind of training he must had to be so good. Life drawing is good i think and better the way you wanna teach it but perhaps it would also be great to have stuff like sculpture, painting, color theory and aplication and a bunch of fine art subjects. i think those guy where very very compleat artist and craftmans and not only for cartoons. i'm still amazed about those vicci ilustrancion!! He could do the flintstones, clasical paintings and kind of a norman rockwell tipe of illustration, mostly for his huge talent but his formation sure helped!pershaps that kind of school with very solid subject will make the cartoonist be able to do the impossible with they're pencils again.i would love that kind of training!

Another route you might consider is doing a course over the internet -- I stumbled upon some art courses at www.schoolism.com which are taught through weekly movie clips through a flash player. Really, your blog inspired me to take them since I was so desperate to take a class and get some professional critique (luckily I got my job to pay for it).

The way they work is you watch a video clip which is basically a class -- showing inspiration, techniques, process, approaches, examples, watching the artist producing stuff in real time, then you get a week to do an assignment, then the students submit the assignment over the web, then the teacher critiques your assignment with the same video technology, going over students' work on the screen and telling them where they are going right and going wrong. Students get to watch everyone else's critiques on each lesson as well.

There are drawbacks and it's not ideal, but it seems like a pretty low-overhead solution, except maybe for some initial web development. Heck, maybe that website would be interested in your curriculum. It could be a way to go until you get your school in the "real world." I've learned much more than I thought I would through them.

I think you are charismatic enough to be a very inspiring teacher, which is half the battle, really. You need to do something like this so people like me learn more than the flat-graphic cartoon network style. I've been doing most of your preston blair assignments, but they are on hold while I'm taking this new class. I After this course is over I'm going to finish my bosko loop! Of course I'll take your course!

Hey, it's a great idea. Would be good if it were online. I like the format of animationmentor.comI am saying this because I'm sure there are many people like me who are in places like Australia, but are dead keen to do something like this.